Paloma Kwiatkowski Says “Cody does have Norman’s best interest at heart” on “Bates Motel”

With one audition, Paloma Kwiatkowski began her career appearing in one of the top grossing movies, “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters,” which grossed over $200 million worldwide.

Now, Kwiatkowski landed her next role as a friend to Norman in A&E’s hit, the “Bates Motel.” In an exclusive interview with CableTV, Kwiatkowski talks about landing her first gig and what fans can expect this season on her A&E series.

Q: Being on “Bates Motel” is one of your first gigs. How did you get involved in acting to begin with?

Kwiatkowski: I did a lot of theater and improv when I was in high school. I also did a lot of film making, like I made my own short film. The last year of my school I moved to a different high school and a teacher there saw I was doing all of these things and he gave me a scholarship to an acting program. I thought why not. I got an agent and on my very first audition I booked a gig and ever since then I have stuck with it and have been doing it.

Q: Were you surprised when you got the role in “Percy Jackson”?

Kwiatkowski: Yeah, it’s funny because I didn’t really know anything about the industry. It kind of just happened and then it took a really long time for me to book my second job so it made it seem that everything was a lot easier than it actually is.

Q: What was that experience like working on such a big production?

Kwiatkowski: I had never been on a set before and there was a lot of things I never knew. For some reason I didn’t know that you went to a different trailer to get your makeup done [laughs]. So they had to tell me things like that. No one said that I looked out-of-place or anything, but I was able to kind of figure everything out. I had my scene I had to do and I was really nervous about and now that I have done other projects I can’t wait to get back on a set.

Q: Since then I know you have done two movies, but now you are working on “Bates Motel.” It’s very different from acting on a movie set?

Kwiatkowski: It was amazing. I actually find that its faster, but when you are on a movie set you are so compressed. It could be that I was in a lot of the scenes so you are so emerged in it, whereas when you are doing a television show there are different story lines so no character is there every day, all the time. So that is kind of nice. But I was a huge fan of the show and I remember when they first came out with the pilot. I read it and I auditioned for Bradley back in the day. I loved the script and I really wanted to watch the show. I never got time and the night before my audition for Cody I watched the show and then went in for my audition.

Q: I didn’t think this show could get any crazier, but it just gets more nuts as the episodes go on. Can you talk about Cody and a little about what people can expect for this season?

Kwiatkowski: Well, Cody has always lived there but just meets Norman in season two. They click automatically because they both have this understanding about their family lives because Cody comes from a background of not the best family. So, Cody is intrigued by Norman. She shows him around and she tries to get him to loosen up and have some fun. They get themselves in a little of trouble, but Cody does have Norman’s best interest at heart. She is just trying to get him to relax and have fun and some times it just doesn’t work out.

Q: How do you transform into the character?

Kwiatkowski: I think the hair, makeup and wardrobe you feel different. Once I was on set, even if we weren’t filming I would catch myself saying things that Cody would say, which are things that I would never say. So, its easy to get into the character when you have great make up and hairstyles and then are put on this amazing set. I will never be as cool as Cody, but I had a lot of fun playing her.

Q: Cody is strong and independent. They have this sort of connection like you mentioned, as you see on the show that kind of gets them in trouble. So, looking at your character what do you think intrigues her about Norman and I think she knows something is off with him…

Kwiatkowski: I think that is exactly what intrigues her. There is something off about him and something that she can’t quite put her finger on and also I think that she knows that he isn’t going to judge her for her family because he has some issues as well. She knows something is going on, but she wants in.

Q: What can people expect coming up this season?

Kwiatkowski: I think people can expect a lot of new characters and they take everyone apart and deconstruct all the characters. You learn a new part of all of them and see a new side of each character.